DESPITE THE FACT that everyone and his mother seems to be making Canterwood-based Pentium 4 motherboards, manufacturers are still finding ways to keep their products unique. Canterwood boards generally share the same core feature list, but mobo makers have kept offerings fresh by mixing and matching bold new aesthetics, integrated 7.1-channel audio, additional storage features, extreme overclocking options, and bountiful bundles filled with all sorts of useful extras. So much for motherboards based on the same core logic chipset all being the same. Each manufacturer's take on the 875P has actually been pretty interesting thus far.

So what's interesting about Soyo's SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 Platinum Edition, beyond its long-winded and over-capitalized name? Try a total of three different on-board RAID controllers. The DRAGON 2 Platinum Edition also includes a hefty bundle of extra goodies and a funky aesthetic that makes it easy to pick out in a crowd. Of course, integrated peripherals and bundled extras are only valuable when they're not sitting idle, and peoples' definitions of aesthetically pleasing are often very different.

Today we'll be running the SY-P4I875P DRAGON 2 Platinum Edition through its paces against a handful of Canterwood- and Springdale-based motherboards. Does it have the goods to compete? Read on to find out.